Experts divided on abrdn takeover risk as Bird doubles down on cost-cutting
'For fund buyers the most important aspects are the strength and stability of the business and the consistency of the team and process.'
In a stock exchange notice this morning (24 January), abrdn announced it would seek to reduce its annualised costs by £150m by the end of 2025, which will include around 500 staff redundancies.
The firm said the majority of the cost-cutting measures will focus on eliminating unnecessary internal procedures, including «the removal of management layers, increasing spans of control, further efficiency in outsourcing and technology areas, as well as reducing overheads in group functions and support services».
Investment Week reported on Tuesday (23 January) that fund managers have been ringfenced from the layoffs, which Charles Stanley's investment analyst Rob Morgan has said is «crucial to client confidence».
abrdn launches 'transformative' £150m cost cutting programme with 2025 deadline
«For fund buyers, the most important aspects are the strength and stability of the business and the consistency of the team and process,» he said.
The £150m «transformative» plan, as CEO Bird described it this morning, is the latest in a series of efforts by the firm to help address its falling profitability and persistent client outflows, which includes the recent sale of its European-headquartered private equity business in October last year.
In February 2023, abrdn outlined the firm was in the process of merging or closing over 100 funds, which it described as «subscale or not aligned with our core strengths», as part of a fund consolidation programme to reduce duplication, simplify its product offering and free up resources.
«Longer term, the process of fund consolidation will likely continue, with
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